Welcome to Monday Morning Refresh! Every Monday, you'll see a new story about how to make your life a little easier, better, and saner. This week's challenge: tackling office clutter. Are you adding to piles and piles of paper around you every day? Do your sticky notes stack up? "When you spend less time looking for things, you're not interrupted as much by your disorganization," says Scott Roewer, a professional organizer and founder of theorganizingagency.com. "You also start your day and end your day with a clear space and clear mind." Another perk: You'll look (and probably feel) more on your game. In this survey from Office Max, 40 percent of respondents assumed a messy desk meant lower quality of work. (OK, yeah, the Post-it piles have got to go.)

Step one: Get rid of what you don't need! Seriously, all those papers, random cardigans, and bags surrounding your desk could be impacting your work. A study published in the Journal of Neuroscience found that if your environment is cluttered, your ability to focus goes out the window. Yes, it's smart to keep a sweater on hand for when the air-conditioning is blasting or an umbrella near your desk for unexpected downpours. But here's the thing: You need only one. The rest can go home with you. (Same goes for jackets and totes.)

Store Your Shoes

Not only is that mountain of shoes under your desk a clutter disaster; it's also super annoying on Saturday nights when you can't find your pumps because they're at your office instead of in your closet. Roewer's advice: "Choose one or two pairs that are versatile and easy to store. Then select a bottom shelf, an extra file drawer, or maybe in a cute bag you can hang on a hook." And minimize. I like a cute pair of flats to slip on for a coffee run and a pair of go-with-everything heels if you need to dress up your work outfit...or head out after work for a date. (Here are some more office-appropriate shoes for summer—but remember, no storing them all at your desk!)Impress Your Coworkers with...Bins

"Projects that are completed should be filed as hard copies, or scanned and saved to your computer with a title that will be easy to remember," says Aron. If you're a visual person, I suggest making color-coded labels for folders on your computer's desktop—it makes organizing so much easier when you just drop a spreadsheet into the yellow file. Just right-click on the folder, scroll down to "label," and choose whichever shade you've designated for that project.

Set Up a System for Paperwork

"Think about your maintenance," asks Roewer. "Does filing only once a week work? Can you clear off your desktop daily and use a drawer to store papers related to your work projects? What are you doing with the papers from your work meetings? You need a system for everything that comes across your desk." If you constantly find coworkers leaving memos on your desk (or on your chair—ugh), consider having a physical inbox right next to your office door or on the side of your cubicle. You can also keep boxes for yourself—one for urgent docs, and another for ongoing projects that don't require immediate attention. Then schedule a time each week to quickly go through both boxes so you can keep tabs on all projects, memos, and whatever else lands on your desk.

Cut Down on Sticky Notes

"These notes should be for temporary use, [like when] you're on the phone and need to jot down a phone number," says Roewer. Roewer also suggests avoiding note pile-up by putting reminders in your desktop and phone calendars with an alert. If writing things down is a must, Aron says to keep a notebook handy, so at least everything is in one place. "Make a to-do list [in the notebook], not *lists *plural. Put your Post-it notes in there too so that you have one location for your lists and notes."

And Finally...Make it Pretty!

You spend a huge chunk of your life at work, so it's important that your space feels like you. One U.K. study backs this up: When researchers surveyed more than 2,000 office workers, they found that the employees were happier and more motivated when they had control over the look of their office.